Lesson Learned: It doesn't hurt to make an offer.

My Dad has a buddy who has a little place at the beach in the OBX (North Carolina's Outer Banks). Every year we go down there as a family and spend a week at the house, which we get for a dirt cheap rate of course. The house is nothing really glamorous or special, sort of resembles a double-wide on stilts, but its clean and comfortable and suits our needs perfectly.

This year, we had to find a new house at the beach for our extended family vacation. My Dad's buddy had his beach house up for sale for a couple years and this summer finally sold it. Two years ago He was asking something like $350,000 for the little place one lot over from the Sound in a vacation house subdivision. After a while the price dropped to $250,000 and last summer my Dad and I thought about what it would take for us to buy it from him. With the banks tightening up and neither one of us having much money to our names, we sighed and just kept dreaming of what it would be like to own a beach house. The last listing price I heard was $225,000 at the end of last summer.

Then this year, a few months ago, we start planning our regular vacation and my Dad tells me that his friend sold his beach bungalow and we'd have to find someplace else to stay. Well, congratulations, I'm sure he's happy to have it sold.

Out of curiosity, I asked my Dad if he knew how much the place had sold for. He told me to sit down. This was not good. His friend let the house go for only $80,000. I was dumbstruck. For $80,000 we could have figured out some financing ourselves and been the proud owners of a beach house.

But we never even made an offer.

We didn't even know that the guy had been that desperate to unload the property. We never asked how much he'd be willing to accept. Down there in a prime beach rental environment with limited buildable lots, I would think the land value alone would be more than $80,000. I still can not believe the seller accepted something so low.

So this year we are vacationing at someone else's rental beach house. Its very nice, but I can't help but mentally kick myself every time I pull up to it. I could have had my very own beach house and not had to stay in someone else's income property. But I never thought to act and just make an offer. Hell, I would have given the guy $100,000 and been extremely happy. Instead I'm left mourning the loss of another deal. This is one lesson definitely learned.

One small goal at a time!

For the first time in over a month I feel like I had a good week!

I really do struggle with time management, goals and priorities, so meeting one of my goals this week feels like an incredible accomplishment, even if it is a somewhat small goal in the grand scheme of things. This week I set a goal of getting a website up on my domain that actually works and can capture lead information for me while I'm out of town for almost two weeks. It's a wonderful feeling to have accomplished that goal!

I did have to let some of the other things I have going on slide a bit. Just based on this week though, I think I've found a good formula to work with when it comes to my own schedule. Setting daily goals and making daily schedules and to-do lists just leave me feeling overwhelmed and unproductive.

This week I set one major goal: Design website and get it up and working. Then I had a couple secondary goals: Go to my "problem" rental to mow the grass and remove all the staging items to get it ready for the new tenant, and to attend a meeting for Local Real Estate Deals Magazine to go over some new and exciting things we're working on. I also had to make time for the kids and took them to the pool and park a few days. So all in all it was a very successful week! Several of my "bottom" goals did not even get touched, but perhaps they will one day have their turn being the top goal of the week.

The working website was a primary goal for me because I am aiming to capture as many leads as I can over the internet. Taking tons of phone calls all day long is not feasible for my life, and paying a phone service is not yet in the budget (but I know the value of them having used one in my previous REI company). So my new marketing and mailers are all going to be driving sellers to my site to capture their information. Cross your fingers that it works for me!

So if I didn't email you back or take your call or meet with you this week, I hope you'll forgive me for putting on my blinders and working diligently on meeting my first of many weekly goals to come. Obviously I don't want to ignore the world every week, but think of everything I could accomplish if I could!

Finding My Marketing Mo-Jo

To be perfectly honest I haven't done very much in the way of marketing since I started on my own with REstore Property Group a couple months ago (my former business partner and I spilt for those of you who didn't know). I've been contacting FSBOs, for rent signs and others that are already interested in selling. I've posted some "buy your house" ads on Craigslist since its there and so easy and free, but the leads off those ads are really no good from my experience. Aside from being busy, broke and sometimes just lazy (hey, I'm enjoying my freedom right?), I've really not done much marketing because I've been thinking about what properties I want and how I want to get them. I don't want to waste time, money and energy marketing for properties that I end up not wanting. Been there, done that.

So I have finally come to a decision of what I'm going to try next. In the past I've used "bandit" signs and they certainly did get results, the phone rang off the hook for weeks after each placement. I was never very pleased with the quality of those leads either, though. Lots of homeowners just fishing for an offer without really being motivated. Granted, you'll get these kind of leads just about anywhere, but with the signs I think there was a disproportionate amount of these casual inquirers.

I'm going to go two routes that I haven't tried before. First is that I'm going to try some direct mail. I've never been a fan of direct mail since I feel the 99% of it that goes directly into the trash is a real waste of resources. But a friend of mine suggested I use greeting cards with hand written addresses on the envelopes. He says he gets a much greater response from those. Sounds brilliant to me! Second I'm going to have either fliers or door hangers that I can leave at houses when I'm driving around neighborhoods. I think I'm leaning towards door hangers since I don't know anyone else doing them.

The direct mail will target out of town owners of houses in my prime rental areas, as well as houses and multifamily properties with long term owners that would have a lot of equity. My focus is still to acquire more cash flowing rental properties with little to no money down and no bank financing (what bank would lend to someone with no income?). They're out there, now I just have to make them know that I'm out here too!

So I'm ordering greeting cards and probably door hangers today. Once they come I'll be spending my evenings watching TV and hand writing addresses. Then with any luck, my phone will be ringing instead of me searching for numbers to call. I'll keep you all posted on how these strategies work out. I'm crossing my fingers that it goes better than my bandit signs did!

Private Investors: Show me the money and I'll show you a sound investment.

I have to admit, when it comes to real estate investing I am consistently putting the cart before the horse. I will chase leads, talk to sellers, and look at properties all day long, but when it comes to talking to people about private lending and finding the money to do the deals, I never seem to get around to it at the right times.

Talking to people about money is just plain boring to me, while looking at houses is super exciting. I can't tell you how many deals I've lost simply because I didn't have anyone showing me the money BEFORE I found the great deal. In all the excitement I'd leave the funding until last, thinking the awesomeness of the deal would make funding a breeze, only to have time run out and/or someone else swoop in and snatch it up while I was out looking for a lender. This is one reason why I originally started out with a business partner. He was a "numbers" person that loved talking to others about money, and it was deemed one of his responsibilities to get out there and find the money while I found the deals. Sounded perfect, but unfortunately it was a part of the bargain that he didn't hold up and we've since parted ways. Trust me, I'm ready to learn my lesson once and for all that the money needs to come first and that I have to be the one to find it.

I read an article in my local paper today about private investors who thought they were funding deals for a real estate company and getting great returns, just as it should be. ( http://bit.ly/YPkML ) Turns out the real estate company was not rehabbing the houses or even holding the notes for under 80% of the house's appraised value as they were told, so the private investors were left holding notes on dilapidated old boarded up houses that were so over leveraged, often by multiple notes, that there was no hope of ever recovering the investment. And these so-called real estate investors owe their lenders over $25 million.

I already dislike the "show me the money" part of this business, but it is one I whole-heartedly believe in because I know how safe and secure investing in real estate the RIGHT way can be. I am sickened by these poor investors who have now lost their life savings, retirement money, or family nest egg due to one incredibly unscrupulous individual. and he probably loved talking about money and was very good at it from the amount he was able to receive. On the other hand, I can not believe these investors essentially handed over their money and just assumed everything was as they were told it was. Would these same people give a large lump of money to their stock broker and just trust that he knew what he was doing and was making them money, never reading a market report or checking in with the broker, even with the stock market falling as we speak? Perhaps they would, but perhaps they are also part of the problem the country is currently in.

So now, as I resolve to go and secure more funding before I miss out on another great deal, I must hit the streets with this incredibly derogatory article overshadowing my good intentions. Will potential lenders have read this article and now completely shy away from securing their investments in real estate? Will they think we are all scammers just taking their money to buy ourselves big boats and fancy cars while the alleged investment crumbles on its lot? I pray that is not the case and that logic and reason allow people to see that this is an extreme case of abusing the system.

So how can I assure you, Mr. or Ms. potential private lender, that I am not such a despicable person?

Well, for starters I am a member of all the larger real estate groups and associations in our city, and in fact I'm president of one of them ( http://www.richmondring.com ). I have a lot riding on my reputation in real estate and would not do anything that would jeapordize my position or lower my ethical standards. Ask anyone in our groups, I'm a stand-up kind of gal. Next, I want you to be comfortable with the property in question. I'll meet you there any time you like to see what your money is buying and if invested, how the progress is going. You should never invest in a stock and then not bother to check up on it and the market, why in the world would an investment in a house be any different? I will show you the inspection report (if obtained), contractor's written estimates, get an after repair appraisal, and close with an attorney or title company that will record the mortgage note with the deed of trust for you. There are many other ways to help you keep your investment safe and secure AND profitable, these are just a few to start. I want you protected and happy so that we can have a long and profitable relationship!

Oddly, I'm now even more determined to show people the great benefits of investing their money in real estate. perhaps this article will give me the boost I needed to get out there and talk more about it with more people. Perhaps I'll go so far as to call it a personal quest to prove to Richmond that real estate investments are an excellent choice to earn very profitable returns on your money. I don't expect to raise $25 million to counteract the damage done by this one disgusting investor, but every little bit counts toward righting some of the wrong that's been done to many private investors in this town.

Do we all really need our 15 minutes?

I'm sometimes perplexed with the way the entire real estate investing industry works. The more I network, both in person and online, the more it seems that everyone is out to sell you something and/or get their 15 minutes of fame out of real estate. Don't get me wrong, I love making money just as much as the next person, but I just can't identify with this phenomenon.



Anyone who has a few deals under their belt is suddenly planning a "training package" or offering to be a mentor (for a hefty fee) or is writing a book. There are plenty of people out there that have incredible experience and offer some really excellent services (Dave Lindahl, for instance, is the real deal with a great program: http://www.rementor.com/). The thing that gets me is that so many investors are now flooding the "market" with training systems and home study courses galore. They see the "Gurus" making tons of money and want a piece of the action, its only natural, right?


My problem with it is two fold: First, I don't see that many of these people understand that in order to make it big in any venture, you need to give before you can get. Second, they are not setting themselves apart from the crowd or finding a good niche to carve out to really make the product shine.



Giving before you get is something I've always believed in passionately. Some of the most successful people you'll meet probably started out asking people "What can I do for you" rather than asking what can I GET out of you. Its one reason why I'm working with Local Real Estate Deals Media, we are looking to help other businesses in their goals first and foremost, and we know that in approaching our business that way we will see exponential returns in the future. We're already seeing that return coming back to us with incredible speed. Dave Lindahl (to use him again as an example) is offering his boot camp for free to people who sign up for his newsletter (visit http://is.gd/Nbtz), a great deal and an example of how even the big guys still abide by this rule. So no matter if you are working on your own training system, book, or just some good real estate deals, don't forget to ask "What can I do to help YOU?" before you even start thinking about your check. Chances are the check will be much bigger and more satisfying when it comes your way.



The second thing that gets to me with all these "Nuru" wannabes (and I know some that will make it because they believe in the things I'm talking about here) is the fact that few are offering something special. I'm sure many of you can relate to having your email boxes full every morning with promotional offers for everything from webinars to boot camps. Which ones do you automatically delete? If you're like me its most of them, because its the same old noise over and over. Please people, tell me something interesting about why you are different, what can you offer that I can't get at 10 other websites? And speaking of websites, am I the only one that wants to see some actual content on these sites, not just an exceedingly long plug on how great the system is without any real statement about what the system DOES. I'm sure some marketing person somewhere did research that proves you get more response without telling site visitors what they're getting, but I can't fathom who those people are that sign up for things blindly!



Of course, there's nothing inherently wrong with developing new businesses out of your real estate investing business, I strongly support individuals coming up with multiple streams of income. There are many great tools, seminars, home-study courses, etc out there that are worth every penny. Just for my own selfish benefit and thousands of others like me, consider a few things before you make your leap into these products, though.

Ask these questions:

• Am I doing this to help others or to get my own piece of the proverbial pie?
• What can I offer to help others before they can help me?
• How is my knowledge and/or system different or better than all the others already out there? (if its really not, you should probably refer to question #1 since you might not be in it for the right reason!)

I, for one, do not need and am not looking for my 15 minutes, and I'm also not looking to sell anyone anything just to generate sales. I'm looking to help those that can benefit from my help and in doing so see all of our success grow. If someday I do come across an idea that prompts me to develop another business, you can be sure that it will be done for the right reasons and with the right methods. A good product will always sell itself no matter what's going on in the world. I would much rather be a part of something that other businesses want to be a part of themselves than one in which I have to force-feed the product to everyone I meet. If I had to do the later, no amount of revenue is worth the bad ju-ju I'd be creating in my life and business.

What Now????

I have a question: What is the one thing you will end up taking away from this economic crisis we find ourselves in?

There’s a never ending stream of news articles about how we got here, who’s to blame, finger pointing, predictions about the length, depth, and duration of this, the worst recession since the Great Depression. I’ll leave the analysis of those statistics to the professionals and hope they come up with something that makes an ounce of sense. I for one am not holding my breath that they will be successful, though. One statistic I do believe is that history repeats itself. We’ve been here before and we will be here again. I’m young enough to not remember any of the previous major downturns of our economy, so this slump has been an eye opening experience for me. It has raised some important questions in my formerly peacefully complacent mind.

I grew up thinking that EVERYONE went to school and then got a job. End of story. Sure, I knew that there were a few people out there who had started businesses or inherited a fortune or maybe chose to be a stay-at-home mom, but for me I knew that it was “hi-ho, hi-ho, its off to work I go.” Both my parents worked throughout the majority of my life. They didn’t always like their jobs, but they were excellent role models of how to be responsible for your family and keep a steady job.

Many parents were like mine, going to work to bring home their paycheck and live decent lives. But what has happened to these hard working average people? They have been rewarded with layoffs, pay cuts, benefit cuts, and entire businesses going belly up. I know so many people who have found themselves suddenly jobless, no income or assets to their name and no prospect of finding a new job, especially not one that they actually want. Now that we are in this mess, I can’t help but wonder why in the world so many people worked so hard to put all their financial eggs in one basket? Now their baskets are bumped and eggs broken, and some have been completely overturned so that all the holder now has is a gooey mess on the floor.

Well, the fact that so many people were never taught and never thought about any other way is for a completely different post…

What I want to know is: What are you going to do now?

If you are reading this you are probably already in real estate investing, just starting to get into it, or maybe just thinking about this kind of business. If so then good for you! But what else are you working on? Just because you’ve realized that being a normal employee isn’t the way to go doesn’t mean you should just switch all you precious eggs to a new basket!!!! The name of the game now, for those of you who are still wondering, is diversification. We need to all be looking for multiple forms and streams of income. Real estate has incredible opportunities and statistically will always perform over the long term, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have other things working for you to secure your way of life.

I’m working on just that plan myself. In addition to getting into real estate investing a little while back, I have been actively researching other avenues that will enhance my lifestyle and lead to finally becoming truly financially independent. I am very, very close. NOW is the best time we’ll ever have to take a step back, honestly assess our lives, and decide where we want to go from here. The media may be telling us how terrible things are in our economy, but I only see how many opportunities are suddenly available. Didn’t I read somewhere that more millionaires were made out of the Great Depression than any other period of time before or since? That’s exactly what I’m taking away from this whole debacle, that it’s a gift for us all to start again more intelligently and prosperously (see my earlier post on failure!).

Make a plan to split those eggs up and put them in many baskets. Start a business, join a network marketing/direct sales company, go back to school to learn something new, check out stocks and options (the market will go up again, ever hear buy low sell high?), write a book, invent something, DO ANYTHING other than what we were all doing before. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results. Keep your job or look for a new job if you must, who doesn’t want some security in their weekly income? But DO NOT under ANY circumstances be complacent with your job’s sole income again. Have a plan B, C, D and E already working for you on the side so that you never need to worry yourself sick at night wondering: What now?????